Twenty Actors Who Have Pursued Careers in Music
Many actors have attempted to start a musical career after finding success on television or the big screen, with varying degrees of success—some were so unsuccessful that their efforts are still unrecognized today. Here are 20 actors who gave it their all while singing.
Johnny Depp
Before forming Hollywood
Vampires with Joe Perry and Alice Cooper in 2015, guitarist Johnny Depp contributed to a number of well-known artists' songs. In 2019, the album Rise was released.
Hailee Steinfeld
After Hailee Steinfeld received an Oscar nomination in 2011 for her performance in True Grit, we first saw her singing ability in Pitch Perfect 2. Since then, the rising star has released an EP called Haiz with several top-charting songs like "Love Myself" and "Starving," a joint effort with Zedd.
Lucy Hale
Did you know that the actor who played Aria in
Pretty Little Liars was discovered in 2003 as a singer in the musical competition
American Juniors? In 2014, Lucy Hale recorded a country album,
Road Between.
Jeff Bridges
In 2000, this veteran actor released his first album,
Be Here Soon, exploring his passion for the music that he’s been listening to since childhood. In 2010, he performed several songs for the film
Crazy Heart, in which he played a country singer. His performance in the film earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor. He also recorded a second album,
Jeff Bridges, released in 2011.
Jared Leto
After playing the hunky Jordan Catalano on
My So-Called Life, Leto formed the rock group
Thirty Seconds to Mars in 1998 with his brother Shannon. The actor, who will reprise his role as the Joker in the next DC movie, has released five albums, including his latest,
America, that came out in 2018.
Scarlett Johansson
The sultry actor, one of the highest-paid women in Hollywood, who played
Black Widow, has recorded two albums, released in 2008 and 2009 respectively. The first,
Anywhere I Lay My Head, is a tribute to the songs of Tom Waits, her favourite singer. The second,
Break Up, is a collaboration with singer/songwriter Pete Yorn.
Ryan Gosling
Hardcore Gosling fans weren’t surprised to hear him singing in
La La Land in 2016. His band,
Dead Man’s Bones, released an album in 2007 and went on a small tour. The brooding and original sound of his music was well received by audiences.
Hugh Laurie
During
House, a show that ran from 2004 to 2012, viewers saw the actor play multiple instruments, showcasing his musical talent. Passionate about jazz,
Hugh Laurie recorded two albums in 2011 and 2013, respectively, and has performed at several jazz festivals. He even played piano on the
Meat Loaf song “
If I Can’t Have You.”
Jamie Foxx
In
Ray (2004), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, Foxx faithfully played the role of singer
Ray Charles. Two years later, he appeared in the musical
Dreamgirls and has since released five albums. Despite having done many collaborations, his most famous one is “
Gold Digger” with Kanye West, where we hear him sing the hook from the Ray Charles song “
I Got a Woman.”
Zoë Kravitz
Lenny Kravitz’s daughter inherited her father’s love of music and heads the group
Lolawolf, which released
Calm Down in 2014, touring that album with Lily Allen and Miley Cyrus, among others. She can also be heard singing “
Don’t” on the
Big Little Lies first season soundtrack.
Zooey Deschanel
The
New Girl actor is also a singer that has enjoyed some success. She’s part of a duo named
She and Him, whose folk-tinged music has garnered many fans. To date, the pair has released six albums, including three holiday compilations. But now that Zooey Deschanel has separated from her musical partner,
M. Ward, the duo’s future is uncertain.
Milla Jovovich
The world was introduced to this Ukrainian actor in
Return to the Blue Lagoon when she was only 15. Milla Jovovich has since made a name for herself in films like
The Fifth Element and
Resident Evil. Few people know that she also has two albums under her belt, released in 1994 and 1998. As a singer, she also contributed to the soundtrack of several films, including
Underworld in 2003.
Jack Black
Leighton Meester
Known as Blair on
Gossip Girl, Leighton Meester sang for the film
Country Strong, starring Gwyneth Paltrow in 2010. Along with lending her voice to the
Cobra Starship song “
Good Girls Go Bad,” she released the song “
Somebody to Love” with Robin Thicke in 2009. She toiled on her first album, helped along by Lil Wayne and Jesse McCartney, but the effort was in vain as it was never released.
Jackie Chan
This professional martial arts actor began singing in his youth. Since 1984,
Jackie Chan has released more than 20 albums and is a very popular singer in Asia.
I Am Me, his latest album in Mandarin, was released in 2018.
Juliette Lewis
Nicole Kidman
This Oscar-winning actor was able to show off her beautiful voice in 2001 on the soundtrack to the musical
Moulin Rouge! alongside Ewan McGregor. That same year, she was invited to sing again on “
Somethin’ Stupid,” the first single off the album
Swing When You’re Winning from British singer Robbie Williams—the song shot to the top of the international charts. The Australian’s voice can also be heard on the films
Happy Feet and
Nine.
Jason Schwartzman
Jennifer Love Hewitt
A ’90s teen flick icon,
Jennifer Love Hewitt can currently be seen in the series
9-1-1. At 12, she recorded the album
Love Songs, that made her a pop star in Japan, the only country where the album was released. Since then, she has recorded four albums and released a compilation album—none of which were successful.
See photo on Instagram
